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Flag flies at half-staff as Essex High School mourns 14-year-old student

There is “numbness, shock, grief” at Essex High School after the death of 14-year-old Gunnar Schumacher, the principal says. The mood in the hallways at the school was somber Thursday. Signs of the season — snowflake cut-outs in the lobby, tinsel garland in the main office — offered no cheer as students walked from class to class.

Flag flies at half-staff as Essex High School mourns 14-year-old student

Gunnar Schumacher, seen here in a post on his Facebook wall, was found dead in his father's apartment at 8 Carmichael Street in Essex Wednesday. Evidence at the scene suggests that his father, Ludwig "Sonny" Schumacher, killed his son and then committed suicide, according to police.

At 8:40 Thursday morning, Reardon had just come from the first class on Gunnar Schumacher’s schedule. He’d gone to offer solace to students grieving the death of the 14-year-old freshman, whom police suspect was killed by his father, Ludwig, who then killed himself.

As students wept, so did their principal.

“I have no shame in saying that,” Reardon said.

The principal planned to attend every class Thursday on Gunnar’s schedule. The first one was tough. “It was emotional,” Reardon said.

The mood in the hallways at the school was somber. Signs of the season — snowflake cut-outs in the lobby, tinsel garland in the main office — offered no cheer as students walked from class to class. Three girls clustered in the lobby, sat down on a bench and sobbed uncontrollably.

“There’s numbness; there’s shock; there’s grief,” Reardon said.

The school was strangely quiet Thursday morning, said 17-year-old Jake Vespa, a senior.

He didn’t know Gunnar well but found himself thinking of the boy’s loved ones.

“I just feel so bad for that family,” Vespa said. “Terrible.”

As school counselors, administrators, faculty and staff stepped up to offer support to the 1,300 students at the suburban high school, they also took time to remember the young man who was not in their midst.

Gunnar performed well academically in his first quarter of high school and seemed to be settling in nicely, Reardon said. He played soccer and took a full course load.

“He fit right in,” Reardon said. “He was popular with his peer group, fun to be around; people enjoyed having him in their class. He was off to a good start. Bright. Lots of potential.”

His older sister, Elise Schumacher, is a junior at the school, and the family is well-known in the community, Reardon said.

The deaths occurred as Ludwig “Sonny” Schumacher and Christina Schumacher were separated and going through divorce proceedings.

Police released the names of the victims at 9 p.m. Wednesday after being called earlier in the day to a suicide at an apartment complex at 8 Carmichael St. in Essex. Ludwig Schumaker had hanged himself after killing his son, police say.

The depth of the loss echoed through the school Thursday as students and employees asked how and why such a thing could have occurred.

School counselors who were set to meet with juniors all day to discuss their scores on the college entrance PSAT tests instead cleared their schedules to console grieving students. Teachers started the day with a crisis meeting before school.

The goal is to be “hypersensitive” to students’ needs and emotions, which vary. “The school community has suffered a tragic loss, and there’s no right way to respond,” Reardon said.

He predicted that the “whys” surrounding Gunnar’s death would be difficult to answer.

“There will be some questions that remain unanswered as we move forward,” the principal said.

Contact Molly Walsh at 660-1874 or mwalsh@burlingtonfreepress.com. Follow Molly on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mokawa